Door opener and holder.



110. 736,714. P-ATENTED AUG. 18,1903.

, J. n. GENDRON.

DOOR OPENER AND HOLDER;

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, 1903.

no MODEL.

u A! "I II I. m lllllllllllll W/TNESSES: //v VENTOH 4 .7615972. elzdmn A from/E Y8,

lllllilllflilll NITED- ST TES Patented August 18, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

JEFFRY D. GENDRON, OF GENTILLY, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR TO'HIMSELF AND HENRY T. GENDRON, OF GENTILLY, MINNESOTA.

noon OPENER AND HOLDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 736,714, dated August 18, 1903. 1

I Application filed February 27, 1903. Serial No- 145,30"7. (N0 model.)

T0 at whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, JEFFRY D. GENDRON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Gentilly, in the county of Polk and State of Minnesota,haveinvented'a newandlmproved DoorOpener and Holder, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention has forits object to provide novel simple means for the opening of a door, and more particularly for the raising ofa horizontal trap-door into a vertical position after it has been manually released bya slight upward pull, a further object being to adapt the improved door-opener for the retention of the door either in open or in closed adjustment until it is started upward by slight manual effort.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts, as is hereinafter described, and d'efined in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the invention applied to a trap-door for its rocking elevation and retention in an elevated position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a trap-door and its surrounding frame and a side view of the improvement applied and adjusted to hold the door closed. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view of the door and frame on the line 3 3 in Fig. 2 and a front view of the improvement adjusted to hold the door closed; and Fig. 4 is a fragmentary and partly-sectional view of details of the ini vention, showing the support for thecoiled springs that effect an elevation of the door.

In the drawings, 5 indicates a rectangular framewhereontherectangulardoortiishinged by one edge, as shown at 7, whereby the door is held on the frame and adapted for a free rocking movement to open or close the opening bounded by the frame 5.

The improved door opener and holder comprises the following constructive details and their relative arrangement in connection with the frame and door: Upon the inner side of the frame member 5" when-eon the door 6 is hinged and at a suitarms 9, secured upon the frame member 5.

Upon the pintle-rod 8 two coiled springs 10 of proper dimensions and tensional force are mounted, said spiral springs being coiled oppositely. Upon the rod 8 two clutch-sleeves 11 are loosely mounted and are secured upon the outer ends of the springs 10. Each outer end of the rod 8 isjournaled in a box 9, formed on an arm 9,'secured on the inner side of a transverse wall of the frame 5, whereon the door 6 is to rock. The ends of the boxes 9 that, are adjacent to the ends of the sleeves 11 have ratchetteeth thereon, and similar teeth a are formed on the ends of the sleeves upon the edge of the arm 12 farthest from the inner surface of the door 6. The pressurearm 12 is of a length that permits its free end to extend a suitable distance toward the center of the door 6, and the trend of the coiled springs 10 is such as will adapt them to exert tensional stress upon the arm through the loop b to press said arm with the maximum force of the springs toward the inner side of the door. The free end portion of the pressure-arm 12 is forked, and between the similar-spaced members of the fork a roller 13 is pivoted, so that the edge of the roller will be forced by the springs 10 toward the door 6 and into contact with a wear-plate 14:, secured upon the door by screws or other means. As

shown, the wear-plate 14 is mainly level; but- The clutch-sleeves 11, that are loosely supported on the rod 8, have spaced radial perforations formed therein, as shown at d, for reception of a pin-wrench 15, (shown in Figs. 2 and 3 as hung upon suitable projections on a side wall of the frame 5,) and itwill be seen that by an engagement of the pin-wrench with the perforations d the clutch-sleeves may be rotatably adjusted on the rod 8 to increase the torsional force of the springs 10, and thus adapt said springs for a proper elevation of the door 6.

A flexible connection 16 may with advantage be provided to prevent the door 6 from rocking too far away from the opening in the frame 5 when it is thrown up by the springpressed arm 12.

In operation the act of closing the door 6 rocks the arm 12 into a. horizontal position and correspondingly increases the torsional force of the coacting springs 10, and it will be seen in Fig. 2 that the arm will be projected toward the free transverse edge of the door such a degree as to cause the roller 13 to ride over the projection on the wear-plate 14 and drop against the flat end ofthe plate, so that the stress of the springs will be exerted to press the roller against the shoulder c, whereby the door will be prevented from rocking upward, as the' arm 12 cannotreversely traverse the plate 14, which is necessary to permit the stress of the springs 10 to elevate the door. \Vhen it is desired to open the door 6, it is only necessary to pull with but little force upon the handle 17 or other projection on the upper side of the door near its free transverse edge, which will cause the roller 13 to ride over the projection c and glide toward the opposite end of the wear-plate '14, the torsional force of the springs 10 serving to press the arm against the door and elevate it into a vertical position.

It is evident that the improvement may be readily applied to open a door that swings in a vertical plane and hold it open or closed by the engagement of the arm 12 with the wearplate 14, as hereinbefore explainedl Having described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent- 1. A device to open a door, or hold the door closed, comprising a torsion-spring, means for mounting the spring on a door-frame, an arm rocked by the spring, a roller on the free end of the arm adapted "to traverse the door, an angular projection on the door over which the roller will ride when the door is closed, and a catch thereon holding the door shut until the door is manually rocked, thereby rolling the roller back over the angular projection, whereupon the door is opened by stress of the springs.

2. A door opener and holder, comprising a rod mounted by its ends on the door-frame, two torsion springs carried by the rod, a pressure-arm rockably supported on the rod between the springs and pressed by them, a roller loosely mounted on the free end of the arm, and a wear-plate on the door and having a projection, the roller being adapted to traverse the wear plate when the door is opened by stress of the springs, and ride over and engage the projection, to hold the door closed.

3. The combination with a rectangular frame, and a trap-door hinged by one edge on the frame so as to swing upward, of a door opener and holder, comprising a pintle-rod, bracket-armsengaging the ends of the rod andfixed on the side wall of the frame whereon the door is hinged, two clutch sleeves loosely mounted on the pintle-rod, and having ratchet-toothed engagement with adjacent ends of boxes on the bracket-arms through which'the ends of the pintle-rod pass, two torsion-springs mounted on the pintle-rod and engaged at their outer ends with the respective clutch-sleeves, said springs being spaced apart at their inner ends by a loop member, a pressure-arm rockably mounted on the pintle-rod between the springs, a roller carried by the arm at its free end, a wearplate on the door, having a projection for engagement with the roller, means for restrict ing the rocking movement of the door, and means for rotating the clutch-sleeves for regulating the tension of the springs.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JEFFRY D. GENDRON.

\Vitnesses:

A. P. HANSON, II. L. CLAMOTII. 

